The Los Angeles Dodgers have been cruising through the postseason and currently hold a 2-0 advantage in the NLCS. Despite having just dropped one game all October, three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani is batting just .143 through those eight contests.
When manager Dave Roberts was asked if he has sensed any frustration from Ohtani, (specifically during an NLDS where he went 1-for-18), the skipper revealed that his superstar was, despite being prepared for the moment, disappointed.
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“Yeah, I think that’s fair, and I think that’s expected,” Roberts said. “I don’t mind it. I like the edge. He’s obviously a very, very talented player, and we’re counting on him.
“So for him to realize his own personal expectations and if they’re not realized then certainly there’s frustration, so he’s just a great competitor. He’s very prepared. There’s still a lot of baseball left.”
Ohtani has survived struggles before, and did so this season after a July that featured a .204 batting average, with a combined August and September batting average of .309 and a 1.091 OPS. The first step to what Ohtani hopes to be a similar turnaround started on Wednesday, when Ohtani took on-field batting practice for the first time this season.
In fact, Ohtani hit a ball out of Dodger Stadium during that first session of the season, according to the Dodgers official Twitter/X account. Even for the player with the third-most home runs in baseball this season, the far flung home run must have been a great way to air frustration, and perhaps confirms Roberts’ suspicion of an “edge” around Ohtani.
Ohtani has an abysmal slash line of .147/.275/.324 through eight postseason games thus, and has collected six RBIs and a pair of home runs. During his sole outing on the mound during Game 1 of the NLDS, he struck out nine and walked one over six strong innings (aside from a three-run second) en route to being credited with the win.
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Photo Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
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6 Responses
Understand the frustration……however, only you can show discipline at the plate and stop chasing?
If he was frustrated, he sure fixed it… by being disciplined at the plate and waiting for his pitch. And what a way to fix a problem! 10 strikeouts in only 6 innings and 3 massive home runs, including the second one which cleared the stadium. As the late Dick Emberg would have said, “Oh My!”
Shohei should not bat on days when he pitches.
Ohtani and Teo have some of the poorest AB’s I have seen.
Agreed but thinking itchers are setting them up to swing at bad pitches. How else can you stop Ohtani and where’s the Dodgers’ batting coach?
Ohtani’s swing plane at the moment is designed for pitches in a certain zone. He has given up going the other way like he did several times last year and when he does go the other way it seems more like luck than a planned thing. . He needs to give up trying to hit Homeruns and instead just try to make solid contact. If he swings level and starts hitting the ball hard that will help him get his timing back as well as his confidence. His front is flying open which leaves him vulnerable to pitches down and outside and away, which you can really only hit by stepping to ward them as Freddie Freeman does. Ohtani is a physical specimen but as players age they need to make adjustments, Ohtani needs to consider minor adjustments, in fact, his recent results demand it because he is physically out of sync.